Eminence Minerals (ASX:EMA) has lodged three exploration licence applications covering 3,697 hectares for its Tayra Rare Earth (REE) Project in southern Bahia, Brazil.
The applications sit directly adjacent to tenure held by NYSE American-listed IMC Rare Earths (NYSE:IMC) at its Itarantim Rare Earths Project in the emerging Itarantim-Maiquinique rare earths district.
Lodged by wholly owned subsidiary EQN Brazil, the licence applications are now with Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Mineração (ANM) for processing, with grants subject to regulatory processes.
Desktop analysis shows approximately 84% of the application areas’ corridor lies at an interpreted gradient of 15% or less, supporting preservation potential for deeply weathered regolith that hosts ionic adsorption clay rare earth deposits.
Public-domain airborne radiometric data also indicates elevated thorium dominance over potassium across areas of Tayra.
CEO Anthony Hills says the acquisition provides a ‘capital-efficient’ entry into the emerging district.
“Tayra places Eminence directly within the emerging Itarantim-Maiquinique rare earths district, with portions of our applications immediately adjacent to the tenure of IMC Rare Earths and its Itarantim Project,” Hills says.
The Tayra application areas sit within the South Bahia Alkaline Province, all mapped entirely on orthogneiss of the Itapetinga Complex. The company notes protolith fertility as the main technical risk, as the presence of weatherable rare earth-bearing source rock beneath the areas has not been demonstrated.
Applications under the Brazilian system are ranked on a first-come, first-served basis, and the company notes there is no guarantee all three will be granted.
Following licence grant and permitting, Eminence intends to conduct a staged exploration program starting with field reconnaissance, geological mapping, and regolith sampling, with potential follow-up auger drilling.
Eminence Minerals is a mining company focused on the exploration, appraisal, and development of iron ore and future-facing commodities such as REEs.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Images: Eminence Minerals
